Carriers are expanding their networks further in September 2025, with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) entering South Korea, Alaska and Hawaiian extending Seattle’s long-haul reach, and KLM, Icelandair, Etihad and China Eastern all adding new intercontinental links.
SAS will this month launch its first nonstop link between Scandinavia and Seoul, introducing service from Copenhagen, starting Sept. 12. The route will be flown 4X-weekly with Airbus A350-900s, reducing to 3X-weekly during the winter season.
The addition comes a year after SAS shifted alliances from Star Alliance to SkyTeam, with Korean Air as a partner. SAS says the schedule is designed to connect with its evening bank in Copenhagen, providing one-stop access across Europe.
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows SAS will be the only carrier linking Denmark and South Korea, although the wider Nordic market sees Finnair offer a daily Seoul service from Helsinki and Korean Air flies weekly to Oslo.
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines will also extend their network to Seoul in September with a route connecting Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Seoul Incheon International Airport. Flights will launch on Sept. 12, operating 5X-weekly using Hawaiian’s A330-200 aircraft.
The move follows Alaska Air Group’s acquisition of Hawaiian in 2024 and the redeployment of widebodies to SEA to build out a transpacific gateway. By 2030, the group plans to serve at least 12 nonstop international destinations with widebody aircraft from SEA, including Seoul and Tokyo Narita, which commenced in May.
In South Asia, KLM will broaden its footprint from Sept. 2 with the launch of Amsterdam–Hyderabad, operating 3X-weekly with Boeing 777-200ERs. The SkyTeam member will become the third European airline serving Hyderabad, alongside British Airways from London Heathrow and Lufthansa from Frankfurt. Hyderabad will be KLM’s fourth Indian destination after Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi.
Icelandair is also stretching its map eastward. From Sept. 5, it will open Reykjavik Keflavik–Istanbul flights, running 4X-weekly using 737-8s. At 5 hr. 30 min., the service will be its longest 737 operation and will represent the carrier’s easternmost destination, replacing Tel Aviv, which has been suspended since October 2023 due to the Israel-Hamas war. Additionally, Icelandair is adding new routes to Edinburgh, Scotland, and Malaga, Spain.
Other new services launching this month include flights by Etihad Airways, which will inaugurate a daily Abu Dhabi–Taipei route from Sept. 7 with 787-9s, enhancing its Northeast Asia coverage and underpinning a new partnership with Taiwan’s Starlux. Later in the month, on Sept. 29, Etihad will add Abu Dhabi–Peshawar flights, connecting the United Arab Emirates capital with northwestern Pakistan’s Bacha Khan International Airport.
China Eastern Airlines will also debut nonstop Shanghai Pudong–Barcelona flights from Sept. 26, operating 4X-weekly with A350-900s. The carrier has already added routes to Paris, Milan, Copenhagen, Geneva and Istanbul to its European network so far this year. Continued access to Russian airspace provides Chinese carriers with shorter, more fuel-efficient routings, giving them a cost advantage over European rivals. In addition, China Eastern will resume Shanghai–Vancouver service from Sept. 25, with 2X-weekly A350 flights, restoring a route last flown in May 2021.
Finally, IndiGo is growing its international reach from Mumbai with new Central Asia routes to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Tashkent service starts Sept. 1, and Almaty follows on Sept. 2, both operating 4X-weekly. The new routes follow the airline’s launch of Mumbai–Tbilisi earlier this year and precede the resumption of New Delhi services to Tashkent and Almaty in October.
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